Ore reclaimer and method therefor



Jim. 21, 1958 J. H; v. FINNEY EIAL 2,820,553

' ORE RECLAIMER AND METHOD THEREFOR Filed April 8. 1953 a Sheets-Sheet 1FIG. I

INVENTORS JOHN H. V. FINNEEY FRED B. MAYCHARK ATTY.

Jan, 21, 1958 J. H. v. FINNEY ET AL 2,820,553

ORE RECLAIMER AND METHOD THEREFOR Filed April 8, 1953 5 Sheets-Sheet 2INVENTORS JOHN H. m FiNNEY H6. 3 FRED a. MAYCHARK ATTY Jan. 21, 1958Filed April 8, 1953 IN V EN TORS JOHN H. v. FINNEY FRED a MAYCHARK .4 2%

ATTY.

United States Patent ORE RECLAIMER AND METHOD THEREFOR John H. V. Finneyand Fred B. Maychark, Denver, Colo.,

assignors to Bunker Hill and Sullivan, Mining and Concentrating Company,San Francisco, Calif., a corporation of Delaware Application April 8,1953, Serial, No. 347,484

1 Claim. (Cl. 214-) This invention relates to new and usefulimprovements in ore reclaimer apparatus for bedding plants and methodstherefor, and more particularly to the handling of ore and similarmaterials to be blended or mixed for smelter or other operations fromores of different chemical analysis combined with the proper flux to beemployed depending upon the assays of the ore. For a more eflicient andcontinuous operation, this invention proposes the use of one or moreseparate beds or piles of ore and flux, each in an amount sufficient forone or more days operation and preferably made up from ores in binsaccording to chemical content and analysis whereby the proportionateamounts of each ore and fiux, for any given treatment can be piled in abed, while another bed is being removed and one or more beds arestanding by for removal and/or analysis. These separate beds are soarranged relatively, that by the time they have been analyzed and thefinal flux proportioning is completed, an overhead mechanism cansuccessively remove the beds by moving in a continuous path and withoutshifting the mechanism back and forth.

An important object of the invention is to provide a method andapparatus whereby a series of beds or piles of material are arranged atopposite sides of a material receiving slot of a subterranean tunnel andare successively removed by a harrowing action which proceedscontinuously in one direction circuitously to harrow and drag said bedsone at a time through said slot.

Another important object of the invention is to provide an overheadtrolley mechanism of the above character which includes a harrow whichsuccessively operates upon the sloping end of each bed, and a dragconveyor which moves to drag material from the toe or foot of saidsloping end of the bed and to discharge the material into the receivingslot.

Another object of the invention is to provide certain of said overheadtrolleys with a motor drive for the purpose of slowly moving themechanism against the receding end of the bed, and to provide themechanism with means to feel the receding face of the bed and to followit to maintain a continuous removal of the material.

A further object of the invention is to provide an overhead trolleycircuit whereby the mechanism may reclaim a bed on one side of thetunnel slot when traveling in one direction, and after making a turn,can reclaim a bed of material on the opposite side of said slot whentraveling in the opposite direction.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an oscillatingharrow for the above mechanism, which can be readily adjusted to anyparticular slope of a bed or pile, operating in conjunction with meanswhich causes the mechanism to follow the face of the diminishing pilefor its progressive removal.

- Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparentduring the course of the-following description.

-...In;.the;accompanying drawingsforming a part of the description andwherein like numerals are employed to designate like parts throughoutthe several views,

Fig. l is a side elevation of the invention showing it arranged inoperative position with respect to a tunnel slot and supported byoverhead tracks,

Fig. 2 is a vertical section of the same taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1showing it operating upon a bed or pile of material,

Fig. 3 is a wiring diagram showing the trolley control,

Fig. 4 is a schematic view showing four beds of material arrangedrelative to a subterranean tunnel and its receiving slot with theoverhead tracks for the support of the trolley mechanism, and with theremoval mechanism shown operating upon one of the beds of material,

Fig. 5 is a top elevation of the main beams or structural memberssupporting the frame Work from the trolleys, and

Fig. 6 is an end elevation of the outer end of the supporting arm of theharrow mechanism.

Referring to the drawings for a detailed description of the inventionand wherein, for the purpose of illustration and not for limitation, isshown an embodiment which is at present preferred, attention is firstinvited to Fig. 4. Here, a somewhat schematic view of the method andapparatus is shown, wherein the numeral 10 designates a rectangularground or floor area of concrete if desired, surrounded with fourvertical walls 11 of approximately six or seven foot heighth to confinethe material being handled. A subterranean tunnel 12 extends centrallyand lengthwise under this ground area 10 from one end thereof outthrough the other end to a suitable depository, such as a smelterfurnace, and endless conveyors 13 are installed in this tunnel toautomatically convey material lengthwise thereof to the desired place.The top of this tunnel under the floor area 10 is always open andprovides an elongated slot 14 coextensive with the length of this flooror ground area to receive material moved across the area toward theslot.

Upon the ground area 10 along opposite sides of this slot 14, aredeposited several separate beds or piles of ore, four of which areillustrated in the present illustration, P, P at one side of the slotand P2 and P3 along the opposite side thereof. These beds or mounds maybe of any shape, but are here shown as having rectangular bases with thelonger sides thereof arranged parallel with the slot 14. The bed P isshown in the process of being removed, while beds P1 and P2 are on astand-by basis awaiting assay reports for determination of the properflux composition when such beds are fed to the smelter. Bed P3 is beingformed or laid-in on the floor area 10 by an overhead conveyor systemfrom storage bins of assayed ore. Any size ground area may be providedfor any number of beds which a particular day or days operation mayrequire; four beds being shown in the present example for purpose ofillustration of the preferred operation.

In order to quickly and economically operate the handling of the ore atthis site, a mechanism A including a drag conveyor 15 and harrow 16 issuspended from an overhead track or trolley system including an oval orendless track 17 having its straight rails 18 extending lengthwise overthe ground area 10 and beds at opposite sides of the slot 14 nearer toand parallel with the outer parallel side walls 11 of the enclosure.Cooperating in the plane of the overhead trolley system, is a straightmono-rail 19 arranged lengthwise over and parallel with the longitudinalcenter line of the slot 14, and equi-distant from the rails 18 toterminate short of the two curved ends 18' of the endless track 17. Thisoverhead trolley system provides an endless track for the circuitousmove ment of the mechanism A over the ground area 10 in an The mechanismA is supported in suspension from the overhead track 17 by a cranecomposed essentially of a main horizontal beam extending transverselybetween the trolley rails 18 and 19 for suspensiontherefrom; The innerend of this beam 20 is supported by a plain swivel trolley carriage 21having wheelsrolling on .the lower flanges ofthe straight lbeam rail19located over the slot 14 in the ground area10. "Suspendedfrom thecarriage 21 by a ball thrust bearing is an adjustable swivel screw 22supporting a second, trolley carriage, 23 provided with wheels 24supporting the upper flange rails of a rail section 25 secured to theinner end of the beam 20 whereby the latter is swivelly suspended fromthe. rail 19 and is adjustable horizontally crosswise relative thereto.-I

Secured to the outer end of the beam '20 at right angles thereto is ahorizontal conveyor'and harrow supportiug arm 26 which is swivelly,suspended equi-distantly on opposite sides of the beam 20 by a pair ofspanner bars 27, each being swivelly suspendedat one end by a motordriven trolley 28 and at its other end by a plain trolley 29, both ofwhich are mounted to run on the endless track 17, thereby suspending theweight of the outer end of beam 20 and the frame work of thescraperconveyor 15 and the harrow 16. Each of these spanner bars 27 is swivellysuspended at its ends by the power and plain trolleys 28 and 29, andeach bar 27 is pivoted atits midsection by a vertical pin 30 having aball bearing swivel 31 with the horizontal harrow supporting arm 26.Thus, the main supporting beam 20 and arm 26 from which the entiremechanism A is suspended, can move freely around the endless track 18and 18' due to the pivoting-of the inner end of the beam 20 at theswivel 22, -while the vertical pivots 30 of the spanner bars'27 andtheir swivel connections with their trolleys permitthe harrow andconveyor supporting'arm 26 to follow around the curved ends 18' of thetrack in a counter-clockwise direction'indicated by the arrows B in Fig.4 to succesesively attack the beds or piles of material.

The drag conveyor 15 has an elongated frame 32 mounting an endlessconveyor belt or chains 33 with drag flights 34 driven by a 3 phase, 60cycle electric gear motor 35 to scrape the ground area at the foot .ofapile in a direction parallel with the beam 20 and'transversely of thematerial receiving slot 14 as shown by the direction arrow C in Fig. 1.The conveyor chain is driven by a drive sprocket secured to its axis 33'and moves about an idler sprocket axis 49. This drag conveyor isarranged beneath the beam 28 parallel and coextensive therewith,

with'its outer end extending a distance therebeyond to a point inproximity suspended from the beam 20 by a frame-work includinghorizontal beams 36, vertical supports 37 and suitable gusseteddiagonals 38. The side of the conveyor frame 32 farther from the pile ofmaterial is provided with a gravitationally actuated scraper blade andbaflie 39 hingedly supported therefrom by the parallel links 40 as shownin Fig. 2, to scrape the ground area 10 clean as the machine advancesinto the pile and to confine spilling of the material beyond the outsideof the con veyor when dragging its load to the receiving slot 14. A pairof platforms 41 for pairs of pillow blocks 42 are supported betweencertain vertical bars 33 of the framework at equally spacedpoints'inwardly and beyond the outer end of the main beam 28 as bestillustrated in Figs. 1 and 2. In each pair of blocks 42 is supported ahorizontal shaft 43 extending crosswise of the conveyor frame work andbeyond the same on the pile-side thereof for the mounting thereon of anoscillating depending hanger arm or link 44. The lower end of each linkis pivoted on an axis 44 to a bearing45 having an axis 46 arranged atright angles to the pivot axis of the link. Each axis46 mounts a pair ofbracket arms 47 which are secured to the lower inclined end of theharrow 16 whereby the lattermay be oscillated upon the slope of a pile,in a direc tion transversely of the slot 14. Another machinery platform48 is securred to uprights 37 of the frame work, and besides mountingthe motor 35, also mounts a second 3 phase 60 cycle motor 50, a speedreducer 51 and pillow blocks 52 for a crank shaft 53 having a crank arm54 which is connected to the nearest link 44 by a connecting rod 55 foroscillating the, harrow. The motor operates the speed reducer and achain drive 56 to a sprocket on the shaft 53 drives the latter.

The harrow 16 which operates upon the slope or in-. clined faces of thepiles P etc. consists of .a frame essentially composed of a series ofparallel horizontal bars 57 cross braced and joined by a series ofparallel harrow tooth supporting bars 57. The harrow teeth 59 depend atright angular regularlyfspaced intervals from the bars 58 to engage andharrow the slope of the pile. In order for the harrow frame to' besupported at various inclinations of repose to meet pile slopes ofvarying angles, the uppermost frame bar 57 as shown in Fig. 2 ispivotally connected on an axis 60 parallel with this bar to a bearinghaving an axis 61 arranged cross-wise of the axis 60 for pivotallyconnecting the lower ends of a pair of hanger arms 62 to the harrowframe. This pair of hanger arms 62 is pivotally connected on horizontalaxes 63 to opposite ends of a horizontal bar 64 which is swivellymounted at its medial point on a vertical axis on an adjustable block 65slidably mounted upon an inclined track or plate 66 fastened securely onthe end of the beam 26 as best seen in Fig. 2. Rotatably mounted inbearings 67 is an inclined screw 68 which is threaded through the block65 to raise or lower the upper end of the harrow frame to meet the slopeof the pile of material encountered. Thus, as the harrow frame isoscillated by g the pitman or connecting rod 55, the frame will beoscilgravitational forces to the toeof the pile into the side of thedrag conveyor where the flights thereof-moving lated upon the axis63.and upon the axis of the power shaft 43 by the links or arms 44 and62. The lower.

ends of these arms being pivotally connected on the two axes 44 and 46and the two axes 60 and 61 to the harrow frame, the latter can tilt inall directions to adapt itself to the contours encountered on the pilesof material. i

' As seen in Fig. 2, the harrow supporting beam 26 is supported in ahorizontal plane by suitable gusseteddiagonal structural elements 70connected thereto and to the vertical structural elements 37 of mainframe work.

As the machine eats away a sloping face of the pile being removed, it isbodily advanced by the overhead power driven trolleys 28 to feel thisface and follow it automatically until the pile or bed is entirelyremoved. This is accomplished by pivotally suspending a feeler arm 71from a pivot 72 on the inside of the conveyor frame and having its lowerpile engaging end 73 curved outwardly away from the pile and toward theconveyor. An electrical limit switch- 74 is mounted on the outside ofthe conveyor frame opposite the'pivotal support 72 of the feeler arm 71'and is connected to one of a series of adjustment openings in this armby an operating rod 75. A coiled tension spring 76.is connected to thisrod and to the conveyor frame to normally urge the arm 71 to its lowerdotted line position as the face of the pile is removed thereby closingthe limit switch 74 circuits to the motor driven. trolleys 28. vance themachine A as a unit farther into the pile, and inso doing, will causethe feeler arm 71.to swing outwardly again to tension the spring 76 andopen the circuits of these motorized trolleys 28 and allow the machineto come to rest atits new working position. This arrangement can be madeto work so that the machine, as a unit, will be constantly, or atintermittent intervals, urged against the face of the pile. V l

I It will of course be understood that the oscillating harrow willharrow and rake the ore material loose on the sloping face wh'ereit willmove downwardly thereof by acrossthe ground area in a horizontal planeatright angles This will automatically adto the slot 14, will pick up anddrag the ore up to and into this slot without manual attention.Referring to Fig. 4, it will be noted that the pile P is being removedand discharged into the open receiving slot 14 by the harrow 16 and dragconveyor 15. As the feeler mechanism 71 and limit switch 74 keepadvancing the mechanism A into the receding pile P in the direction ofthe arrow B, the pile is finally removed, and the feeler mechanism willcause the motor driven trolleys 23 to advance the mechanism A in thedirection of the arrows B to attack and start removing the nextsuccessive pile P. These operations are continued to successively removethe remaining piles P2 and P3 while new piles are being formed in theirplaces to maintain a continuous operation. As the mechanism A ispropelled around the curves 18' of the endless overhead track 17 by themotor driven trolleys 28 and the spanner bars 27 being swivelled to theoverhanging supporting arm 26 permitting it to travel around the curves,the main horizontal supporting beam 2%) will sweep around these curvesby swinging in an are about its pivot formed by the swivel 22 of trolley21. Thus, the pile removing mechanism A can proceed to move in anendless path to successively attack and remove the piles, first at oneside of the central receiving slot 14, and then along the other sidethereof. It will move in a horizontal plane parallel with each side ofthe slot, while its harrow 16 will be oscillated across the slope of thepile and transversely of this slot and the drag conveyor 15 will operatein a clock-wise direction as viewed in Fig. 1 and in a horizontal planeat right angles to the slot to drag the material across the ground areatoward and into the slot, where it will be discharged into the slot anddrop on the conveyor 13 to the tunnel 12 to be carried to its place ofuse.

A wiring diagram for the operation of the automatic operation of theinvention is shown in Fig. 3 and suitable push button switches areincorporated therein whereby the various adjuncts may be operatedmanually when desired as will be obvious.

It will be understood that the fluxing agents and ores are generallydeposited by an overhead system from bins, onto the piles of materialbeing formed with different kinds of ore and flux necessary for anysmelting operation. As a pile is formed, the different constituentsthereof tend to stratify into several strata, but these are broken upand mixed by the later slicing action of the harrow mechanism throughthe strata and by the drag conveyor moving the material across the floorto the open slot 14. By the time the materials from the piles fallthrough this slot, all of the constituents thereof are thoroughly mixedand proportioned ready for smelting to be conveyed to the smelter by thetakeaway conveyors 13. After a pile of material has been formed, furtheranalysis thereof may indicate that some additional flux, or a difierentkind of flux should be added to the pile, and this may be done beforethe pile is moved into the slot; such movement thereof as hereindescribed causing a thorough intermingling of the flux with the ores.

It will be apparent that the invention may be used for reclaiming asingle pile or bed of material with the slot 14 extending along only oneside of the pile, so that as the pile is being removed a new pile can bebuilt up in its place so that the mechanism A can be moved around thetrack 17 and the slot 14 in a circuitous counter-clockwise directionuntil it comes into its original starting position ready to again removethe pile which is formed while the first pile is being removed.

From the foregoing description of the construction and operation of theinvention, it will be apparent that various changes in same can be madewithout departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of theappended claim.

I claim:

in an ore reclaimer system, the combination of an elongated ore storagefloor, conveyor means extending longitudinally and substantiallycentrally of said storage fioor below the level thereof andcommunicating therewith by a slot in said floor over said conveyor meansproviding a passage through which ore may be fed from said floor ontosaid conveyor means, and an ore feeding mechanism for transferring orefrom piles on said floor through said slot therein to said substantiallycentrally extending conveyor means including an endless overhead trolleyrail structure extending substantially around the periphery of saidfloor and having straight side stretches and curved joining endstretches, an inner overhead trolley rail structure extendinglongitudinally of said floor and disposed centrally between and parallelto said straight :side stretches of said endless trolley rail structure,trolley carriage means including means movably mounting said trolleycarriage means on said rail structures and having swivel mounts thereonproviding for turning of said trolley carriage means around the ends ofsaid inner rail structure and for travel of said carriage meanslongitudinally of said floor in opposite directions on opposite sides ofsaid inner rail structure, means suspended from said trolley carriagemeans for raking material from a pile of ore on said floor to the basethereof, an endless drag conveyor extending transversely of said floorfrom adjacent to an outer side thereof to the space over said slot insaid floor and being mounted and arranged on said trolley carriage meansfor travel therewith over said floor closely spaced therefrom andoperable for feeding ore from said door to said first mentioned conveyormeans through said slot, and means for driving said trolley carriagemeans around said rail structures.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS537,680 Dodge Apr. 16, 1895 1,330,709 Hurt Feb. 10, 1920 1,464,747 CaseAug. 14, 1923 1,569,100 Mullin Jan. 12, 1926 1,752,026 Phillips Mar. 25,1930 1,829,923 Cole Nov. 3, 1931 2,171,528 Andrada Sept. 5, 19392,423,279 Wren July 1, 1947 2,579,153 Meissner Dec. 18, 1951 FOREIGNPATENTS 141,914 Great Britain Apr. 29, 1920

